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He shifted in his chair "I do work a lot, but I'e that Do you--do you enjoy your job?"
"Not really The Coraders are hormonal and impossible to control, and they want to take away most of our benefits"
"I' careers?"
"In this econoht fire "No way I have to deal with it, so I nant in eighteen months so I can extend my leave to a full year Have the second child exactly fourteen e But I don't want to deal with any workaholics My father was one, and my parents ended up divorced Have you always been selfish?"
"Huh? No, if I had a family, I wouldn't work as much Let me ask you--"
"Sorry, I' a risk with you I think our time is up"
Ding
At table eleven, he knocked over his partner's cocktail and stained her pretty red dress At table twelve, he ave hi He drained his bad wine, but there was no tied on endlessly andthan the last
Finally, at table fifteen, he scored
Debra had a sweet s red hair, and a milky white complexion He introduced hi people is so hard nowadays, we're reduced to e ways to find one another"
His shoulders relaxed slightly "Yes, I agree Though I'm surprised you would have any problems"
She laughed and ducked her head "Thanks So, instead of asking a bunch of inane questions for five minutes, I composed a few fun ways to see what personality types we are"
"Very creative" He'd read about this in Cos the type of led with excitement "Ask away"
"Wonderful!" She drew out a stack of index cards and shot him a playful expression "Question one, what type of first date would you take me on to impress me?"
Yes He knew this one cold He tried to keep the triumph out of his face "I'd take you to the New York Public Library in Manhattan and find out what type of books you like to read Then have a picnic in the park afterward"
Disappointleamed in her brown eyes "Oh A library is free, Ned And a picnic is cheap No li restaurant on top of the Marriott Marquis? Are you afraid to spend money on a woman?"
What was she talking about? Cosmo always said a htfulness and originality did "Sorry, I wasn't thinking How about your next question?"
She perked back up and slid to her next note card "If you were to compliment one part of me, ould that be?"
This one he knew! Marie Claire talked about it constantly "Your smile," he said
Her lower lip kicked out "Are you kidding ym twenty-four-seven so you can comment on my teeth?"
His ears roaring, he blinked in sheer confusion This could not be happening The last time he took Connor's advice and cootten a drink thrown in his face "I didn't think women liked when men did that"
She rolled her eyes "That's ridiculous, we live for it"
Ned et one more shot?"
"Last one This is the ize?"
Finally There was no way to get this one wrong "I'd tell you straight out I was sorry and that I'd work on fixing what I can so we don't have the saazine Coy was a number one priority omen
Debra stuffed her cards into her purse and gave him a look "Why the hell would I care if you're sorry? Actions speak louder than words I want jewelry Sorry, Ned, you're just not for me"
Ding
By the tiravated, tired, thirsty, and disillusioned Most cared about his appearance, et serious and leave all the junk behind Despite weeks of reading woazines, he'd flunked every five-minute session
Finally, he reached the last date The woh, but he'd been here before Nothe date his way
"Hi, I'm Bernadette"
He leaned forward, placed his elbows on the table, and narrowed his gaze "Hi, I'm Ned When will you be ready to be married and have kids?"
The woman jerked back She see He hadn't ht "Uht person Then e and kids can come later"
H? A month? Two? You're already past thirty, and statistics show once your eggs reach thirty-five, your fertility starts declining, and chances of a healthy baby decrease by forty percent"
Was that a ht froot which one Her lower lip trembled but he had her full attention "I'm only twenty-nine," the woman whispered
"Right on the precipice I would rethink your plan if you want to birth at least two children You do want children, right?"
Another s children"
Finally A woman who knehat she wanted He relaxed "Me, too I think we have silad we finally met I think I'm supposed to wait till the end, but since this worked out so well, how about dinner Friday night?"
Ding
The wo hand to heron?
He opened his mouth to question her, but a vision in hot pink swarht
Dream woman
She was even lossy moisture, and his nostrils kicked in at the scent of sandalwood and cinnamon She laid a hand on Bernadette's ar in her ear Bernadette nodded, swiped at her eyes, and stood up Dream woman patted her back, pointed her in the other direction, and watched her walk away
"Hey, ere setting up a date"
Dreaaze head on
He stilled Those golden eyes sucked hiled for breath, entranced by the white-hot heat and fury beating from her in waves Deliberately, she placed her palms flat on the table and leaned in
"I want to talk to you"
His spirits perked up "Great Did the clock start?"
"Forget the clock I need to finish up a few things and then I'd like to have a chat I'll meet you at the diner next door in ten minutes"
No way She was interested in hi just asked hiht would turn out alright "Don't I need to fill out my request sheet first?"
Was it possible she looked even les and soft skin Funny, if you took away each of her features, it seeether, she had azelle-like structure, highly cut cheekbones, thick brows, huge eyes "I'm sure that sheet won't be needed I'll see you at the diner"
She pulled back, swiveled on her four-inch pink heels, and disappeared into the crowd
Ned dumped the sheet Other than Bernadette, the event had been a bust But his date with Drea terht? He'd have just enough tie face to see if he could lighten it up
Ned headed toward the diner
two
KENNEDY SIPPED HER coffee and studied the walking disaster across the table
It took a while to calm down her client, but she'd convinced poor Bernadette that theand then hooked her up with Brian, who'd beenevents were a bittouchy Some clients loved the quick pace and even quicker decisionstress and adrenaline, rising to the top and scoring the best overall first impression